Our "Day" in Paris (Feb 3)

We took a night train Salzburg to Paris EST. We got the bottom bunks in a room where the heat was out of control! We tried several times to turn it down, but it was HOT and the heat was right next to our bunks. Also, these were the shortest bunks we saw on our trip, so Andrew was not in for a good nights sleep!

When we arrived in Paris we had to take the Metro from the EST station to the Lyon station, and that was our experience in the city of Paris! We waited in the station and it was very cold! There were great pastries, croissants and apple torte. Probably good we didn't spend more time there!

Our next train was a high speed, double-decker. We had seats on the top level, so we had a great view of the BEAUTIFUL terrain of southern France. This was the nicest first class we saw, and it was relatively empty so we spread out and rested. We cruised along at 300kph, so it didn't take long for us to arrive in Montpelier where we transferred to the train that would take us to Spain. This was in a first class car too, but it felt more like a commuter train! It was old, the seats were broken, and it felt like we would never get there, but eventually, we did.

There was a group of 4 Canadians in their 50's or 60's in front of us so we ended up talking with them. They sounded like they had a lot of traveling experience, but when we arrived in Spain they weren't quite sure how to get to their hostel. Andy Larsen and Erik Amundson were at the station in Barcelona waiting for us and offered to help the Canadians get to their hostel. It was a good chance for us to see a glimpse of the city at night. We went back to the Larsen's and talked for a while. It was great to be with other people and share some of what we'd seen. It was the start of processing for us. The Larsen's were so welcoming, and will continue to be great friends to us.